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New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
@SCC101
Member since 2006
My "legacy profile" that contains active links: https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/81613/profile/legacy CURRENT MISSION Embrace life. Early in 2015, I started thinking about bucket list type things that I wanted to do. So that's when I came up with my 50-by-50 goal - visit all 50 US states by the time I turn 50! I like to visit capital cities too, so I've added that to my list down below. Since then, there have been some changes in my life and visiting all 50 states by the time I turn 50 wasn't going to happen. Now I've just updated it to 50-by-55. Current status: 34 states (+ Washington, DC) https://m.maploco.com/visited-states/mine.php?states=AK-AL-AR-AZ-CA-CT-DC-FL-GA-IA-IL-IN-KY-LA-MA-MI-MD-ME-MN-MS-NC-NH-NJ-NM-NY-OH-PA-RI-SC-TN-TX-VA-VT-WI-WV And international travel: https://map1.maploco.com/visited-countries/mine.php?c1=m672jxh6gw-gmnbx1rsw0-b3ajtx2ygw-b33r6n8s8w-2rrwbbg7b4 ABOUT ME Since this seems relevant... The first time I was on a plane, I was only 15 months old. My parents are from Portugal and they were taking me to meet one set of grandparents there who hadn't yet met me. My dad left Portugal to come to the United States at age 26. When I was 26, I made the reverse trip. I lived in Portugal for a year and it was the best thing I have done in my life so far. To get an idea of what my interests are, check out the "Groups I Belong To" section of my profile. And since this doesn't fit anywhere else... States I've lived in: -Massachusetts -Kentucky (capital - Frankfort) -Georgia (2nd visit in February 2017) (capital - Atlanta) States I've visited: -Alabama -Alaska (#26 - July 2016) -Arizona (#29 - February 2018) -Arkansas -California (#24 - February 2016) -Connecticut -Florida (2nd visit in October 2017) -Illinois -Indiana -Iowa (#31 - July 2018) -Louisiana -Maine -Maryland -Michigan (#33 - October 2018) -Minnesota (#25 - April 2016) -Mississippi -New Hampshire -New Jersey -New Mexico (#28 - February 2018) (capital - Santa Fe) -New York (another NYC trip in April 2017) -North Carolina (#27 - April 2017) (capital - Raleigh) -Ohio -Pennsylvania (2nd visit in October 2016) -Rhode Island (capital - Providence) -South Carolina (#34 - February 2019) (capital - Columbia) -Tennessee -Texas (#23 - February 2015) (capital - Austin) -Vermont -Virginia -Washington, D.C. (definitely Capital!) -West Virginia -Wisconsin (#30 - July 2018) (capital - Madison) PHILOSOPHY I'm going to list quotes I really like here: *** I've been living and loving my nomadic existence since the day in 1986 when, at the age of forty-eight, on the verge of a divorce, I looked around and thought: There has to be more than one way to do life. There is. *** Tales of a Female Nomad **You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. -Jon Kabat-Zinn **Don't get into a pissing contest with a skunk. **aut viam inveniam aut faciam - I shall either find a way or make one. **Monolingualism is a curable disease.
Interested in Baking
Fluent in English
Learning Spanish
1 Vouch
Why I'm on Couchsurfing
COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE Stayed with: -Cheri (Exeter, New Hampshire, USA) in June 2006 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/cheribinnh/ -Dasha (Burlington, Vermont, USA) in July 2008 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/earthfire/ -Claudelle (Montreal, Canada) in July 2008 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/claudelle/ -Aida (Aveiro, Portugal) in July 2010 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/aidaisabel/ -Natalia and her housemate Rob (Burlington, Vermont, USA) in June 2011 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/nfajardo/ http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/paradigmshifter/ -Cesar (Lima, Peru) in July 2011, with help from Joel (Lima, Peru) http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/pablo-cesar/ http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/carismatico28/ -Michelle (Chicago, Illinois, USA) in October 2011 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/mevers/ -Janessa, Anders, and their kids (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) in July 2012 http://http//www.couchsurfing.org/people/jlandeck/ -Julie (Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA) in August 2012, August 2013, July 2014, August 2015, and July 2016 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/julie.puttgen/ -Alex (Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2013, June 2014, June 2015, and June 2016 https://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=5XHPOXU -Jebb and Tracy (Tyringham, Massachusetts, USA) in June 2014 https://www.couchsurfing.org/people/jebbremelius/ -Claudia (Austin, Texas, USA) in February 2015 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/claudiac -Beth (Merrimac, MA, USA) in October 2015 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/bethvjones -Jessie (Minneapolis, MN, USA) in April 2016 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/jessie-rae-2 -Michele (Lexington, MA, USA) in October 2016 and February 2017 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/michele.cooke -Nira (Northampton, MA, USA) in November 2016 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/nohocouch -Greg (Albuquerque, NM, USA) in February 2018 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/newmexicogreg -Fernando and Katherine (Milwaukee, WI, USA) in July 2018 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/reggietao https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/katherine-frances -Leah (Greendale, WI, USA) in July 2018 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/leah.weyers -Andrew (Lebanon, NH, USA) in August 2019 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/afcmayhew -Varvara (Hanover, NH, USA) in August 2025 https://www.couchsurfing.com/c/users/varvara-korkina Hosted: -Mark (Northampton, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2007 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/staxer96/ -Devarsh (Waltham, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2011 - later joined up with Mason (New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA) http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/devarsh/ http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/uptown212/ -Becky (Conway, New Hampshire, USA) in October 2010, 2011, and 2013 (a repeat guest!) and Michael (Deep River, Connecticut, USA) in October 2011 http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/snowriver/ http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/mique7704/ -Henryk and Vannessa (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2016 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/circerasolt -Eagle and Avril in November 2016 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/eagle.gamma Met and/or Hung Out With: -Darin (Bangkok, Thailand) in August 2006 https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/darinkong/ -Juan Carlos (Cusco, Peru) in July 2011 at the weekly CS meetup he co-hosts -Miriam (West Hartford, Connecticut) in July 2011 at the home base of the volunteer vacation program we both participated in https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mginsberg/ -Sinan (Istanbul, Turkey) in October 2011 while we were both CouchSurfing with Michelle (Chicago, Illinois, USA) https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mevers/ https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/hsmuslu/ -Miranda (Germany) in October 2012 while she was studying at UMass Dartmouth https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/865255 -Kim (Minneapolis, MN, USA) in April 2016 while I was in Minneapolis https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/amindlessmuse -Kirsten (Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA) in July 2016 while WWOOFing in Alaska https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/kirsten-geiger Some extras: -housemate with Elçin from September 2012 to March 2013 (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/elcinemre) -housemate with Eva from May 2015 to August 2015 (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/eva-kam) -participated in a quilt block exchange with Arika (our fearless leader!), Carole, Sophie, Linda, Sabine, and Angela of the quilting group in the spring/summer of 2011 -exchanged postcards with numerous CSers
Music, Movies, and Books
Relevant TED Talk: http://www.tedxtuhh.de/how-to-travel-the-world-with-almost-no-money/ Television: -Six Feet Under - Yes, it's more than 20 years old. This show is so good that I've watched the whole series at least 5 times. -Daily Show Radio/Podcasts: -O Homem Que Mordeu o Cão -Up First Websites: -Postcrossing - send and receive postcards
One Amazing Thing I've Done
Sorry, but this won't be limited to just one thing... -slept in a covered bridge where fireflies lit up the night (2000) -watched the sunset from Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon, Portugal while a woman was singing fado music in the background (2002) -slept on a sand dune in the Sahara in Morocco on a night with a full moon and watched the sunrise that morning (2003) -visited a town in Brazil with the same name as me (last name) (2004) -had an hour-long conversation with a Buddhist monk in Bangkok (2006) -watched the sun come up in Machu Picchu (2011) -went to Elçin and Erinç's wedding in Turkey (2014) -saw wall markings tracking the heights of Anne Frank and her sister over time in the annex where they lived for over two years (2017) -stood underneath the Eiffel Tower and just kept looking up (2018) -saw cave drawings from 12,000BCE on the island of Levanzo, Italy (2018)
Teach, Learn, Share
If someone wants to practice some Portuguese or Spanish, I'd love to do that. When I stayed with some hosts in Milwaukee, we tried to bake baguettes. Let's just say we ended up with some baguette-shaped bread which didn't quite have baguette-texture. Still, it was a fun and memorable time with some CouchSurfers.
What I Can Share With Hosts
I can share some yummy homemade bread or some other baked deliciousness! I love to bake!
My Interests
photography, watching movies, learning about different languages and cultures, reading, gardening, quilting Postcard Project: When I had a classroom, I set up a display of postcards from around the world. I've already gotten many from fellow Couchsurfers, but I'd like to represent as much of the world as possible. I currently have postcards from: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Holland, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey If you'd like to help me, please send me a message. I can definitely send you a postcard as well!
